Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the policing budget in England and Wales was spent on prevention of online harassment in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not hold this information. How much of the policing budget is allocated to a specific workstream or activity within a police force area is a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners in consultation with their Chief Constable. The Government is absolutely clear that harassment and abuse in whatever form and whoever the target is totally unacceptable. This includes harassment committed in person, or using phones or the internet.

There is a robust legal framework to tackle offline and online harassment and abuse provided by the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and offences in the Malicious Communications Act 1998 and the Communications Act 2003.

New Authorised Police Professional Practice on stalking and harassment is currently being developed by the College of Policing, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate will shortly be commencing a joint inspection of how stalking and harassment are handled by police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), including the service received by victims.